Boards›Player Behavior

Stop saying "this is just a game"

Aír·6/4/2016, 5:58:54 AM·31 votes·3,257 views

Okay, this may be a rage thread, but this is seriously pissing me off. Let me just give a recent scenario to you guys. I was playing another ranked game and our mid and top were doing quite poorly. The mid fizz was 14-1 by 20 min into the game and top Hec was 10-2. Post game, rather than staying quiet, or acknowledging they just had a bad game (cause legit guys, we all do, even I do sometimes while also having my awesome games too), our mid laner said the most infuriating and tilting words ever:

"It is just a game."

So that makes it okay to feed? And to rage at teammates? So rather than saying to yourself "I did badly, let me see what I did wrong so I can fix it in the future" you say "Idgaf and I will keep doing my mistakes because this is only a game and it doesn't matter anyway."

Cause here is the thing, this is not just a game. This is a community, a new world. A livelihood for some (LCS pros) and an incredibly important hobby to others (like myself). We can make long lasting friends here. Or we can play on our own to feel that thrill we don't always experience in our normal day to day life. Whether we are Bronze or challenjour, we play this game because we enjoy it and it is not just a select few, but over 70 million of us.

And yeah, yeah... "You are not an LCS pro lmfao." I know.... don't remind me.... but even LCS pros had to start somewhere. They didn't all of a sudden get placed into Diamond 1 and they don't all play perfectly all the time either. And to them, a win or a loss still has a lot of meaning to them, just like it does to many of us.

So please, don't let "this is just a game" be an excuse to keep playing poorly in a ranked match and an excuse to not learn from it. If you don't want to learn or get better, then stay out of ranked. If you plan to go into ranked not caring if you win or lose, then stay out of ranked. That is what is normals is for.

Courtesy of an avid League of Legends Player,

Airman CompSci

93 Comments

archerno16/4/2016, 7:25:02 AM9 votes

And that is completely correct. You are allowed to have bad games, to have negative score because well- its just a game.

proud and bronze6/4/2016, 11:35:47 AM5 votes

just because a video game is important to you and matters a lot in your life doesnt mean it has to to everyone else. at the end of the day its just a stupid video game.

Fovere6/4/2016, 1:18:38 PM4 votes

Completely agree.

People never used to say that, even in normals. I had never even heard "its just a norm" til maybe S3.

It's just a game.

That means you're here voluntarily, using your own free time in a structured environment with specific rules and purpose.

If you aren't coming to League to play the game, which means applying basic mechanics and strategy with the ultimate goal of winning, then why the hell are you playing? The "fun" in League is synonymous with gameplay.

Anything else is just griefing/trolling teammates, wasting 9 other people's time so you can, what? Pretend this is minecraft and you can do what you want?

TNHA Baritone6/4/2016, 6:43:42 AM4 votes

This is SO true! RANKED is different from normals. GO FUCK AND AND FEED THERE. Don't do it in ranked, okay fine, they had a bad game but when someone types "It's just a game" that makes me feel like I've been pulling a fucking anvil on my own while someone else didnt even try.

Sometimes I wish for a New Report Catagory: Purposeful Throwing / Lack of effort <required explanation>

But then it's impossible to prove or disprove those things.

zacktootall6/4/2016, 7:10:35 AM3 votes

thank you for putting this in to the words i couldn't cuz rage. i mean it thank you.

Unlimited Ninja6/5/2016, 12:55:26 AM2 votes

I understand that it is just a game in Normals and I really don't care if i win or lose, but in Ranked, it really does matter to people.

Cuff Me Daddy6/4/2016, 1:06:39 PM2 votes

It's just a game tbh don't be so mad bro

SmokedAlmonds6/4/2016, 2:23:29 PM2 votes

I tend to think most people who say things like "it's just a game" are using it as a different way to say chill out rather than it being some declaration that they aren't trying to win. It is something people say when they get defensive to try and defuse tension. It is a statement about someone else's attitude in the game, not their own.

That said, it is a counter productive thing to say. People do not chill out when they are agitated when someone says so.

Elisheva6/4/2016, 6:32:54 PM1 votes

It's just a game. If it meant anything whatsoever, it would be more necessary to rage, but it doesn't, so it's not.

RoodToob6/4/2016, 12:04:48 PM1 votes

I think the "Its just a game" comes for people trying to rage/flame at them. Yes this matters to you, they didn't intentionally go and play horribly, your flame will only make them feel worse.

So, its just a game, as in, "please stop flamming me" is what i think they mean